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Wednesday, February 3, 2010

The Writing Life

A short post - yesterday I had my writing day (really half day) with Gwen. I am being successful with my question approach and it is thrilling to me. For those of you who don't remember or didn't read that post - I went through my wip (about fifty thousand words so far) and wrote index cards from beat to beat. As well I wrote up a number of questions. I thought I might need to go into the novel to answer them but so far I can move forward as I answer them - further the plot. And it is quite fun or intriguing anyway. But not always! Sometimes I am frustrated with my fictive dream - I put something in and now I'm trying to make sense of it. I am trusting I put it in because it needs to be there. But what if it is just junk? Not everything in a dream is significant no matter what Fritz Perls, Jung or Freud have to say. Some of it is just flotsam that got caught up in the big wave of sub-conscious material.

I will have to step carefully but not let the subconscious rule the entire game. We in the past few generations have perhaps given too much credence to the unconscious and not enough to the rationalizing conscious mind which after all gets to sort through this stuff!

As well, I'm not writing enough. I'm letting myself get sloppy with my practice and I need to tighten up the reins. On a day like today I have all day at home alone and hope to write about three thousand words. Let's see how that goes. When I'm going back and forth into town and working on the government stuff I can't turn it around fast enough - I'm too beat at the end of a day. I'd rather write a bit every day but it doesn't seem possible right now.

I will do my best. I think part of it is just my usual deep winter blues and the fact that I am hearing nothing regarding The Rock Walker. And I'm discouraged. So it is time to listen to Stephen King and just go at it one word at a time.

We are having a nice time with the kids though - easy and chatty and good so far. They are both going to semi-formals at their schools for Valentine's Day. I think darling step-dot wants to do something very radical with her hair. Her mother would rather she waited until after they take their trip to Washington at the spring break but I look forward to what she will come up with.

Update - it is nearly five pm here on the east coast and I did my three thousand words - yeehaw! 3,145 to be exact. And made a nice beef and barley soup - did some wash, fed the chickens their oatmeal surprise and read some required reading. Now I'm going to go and meditate as the sun sinks into the west or in this case the grey gets a deeper shade of grey...man it is cold!!!

Helen - index cards going great so far...just gets me moving in the filling part of this sandwich...oh, I'm treading daily with the step-dot - but there is nothing else to do...Diane - what? You don't have time to write? I beg to differ - you do write! 3 thousand is just three session that don't take so long.Elizabeth S-C - three thousand isn't so bad when I have a whole free day. It is less than one thou on a packed day somehow. I'd like to get this first draft done by the beginning of March so I need another thirty thousand words. I'm on track as of today but could slide off pretty quick...I'm worried about too much random stuff because I think that is what stalled me after nanowrimo - it will be more like going back and filling in all the talking head scenes with some business (as they call it in theatre. How tall are you by the way?Elizabeth B - you've been on a pretty good run so this may be just a February speed bump. Just keep swimming, just keep swimming...The soup was good and the words got done and life is another day....